The invention relates to fastening means for flexible panels, and more particularly to a releasable fastening and holding means for the edges of flexible film layers which form a part of an inflated structure.
Various connecting devices and fasteners for flexible panels and sheets have been suggested.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,480 shows a multiple-component fastener for suspending a flexible panel or sheet in vertical position. This device requires the sheet to have a hem through which a bar is placed which is then locked between two other components of the fastener. In this type of device, the direction of the pull on the sheet will not vary and it is not intended to seal two or more sheet edges together.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,873 shows a two-component elongate fastener including a channel having opposed concave sides for receiving a flat locking member. The flexible panel is wrapped around the locking member and as such may be inserted into a deeper of the two concave ends and freely slipped into the other concave end. When tension is put on the flexible panel, the locking member is held within the channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,497 shows another elongate strip type fastening device for a flexible panel. The patent shows the edge of a screen panel fastened to a frame by means of a two-piece fastening device including a flat bar member which sandwiches the screen into a receiving member, one end of which is concave for holding down one edge of the flat bar. The bar has a slot at one location on its edge opposite the concavity of the receiving member, and in a corresponding location on the receiving member is a protrusion over which the slot in the bar can pass. When the screen and locking bar have been inserted into the receiving member and are passed under the protrusion, the bar may be slid longitudinally to displace the slot from the protrusion, thereby locking the bar and the screen in position. The bar does not snap into the receiving member in an interference fit, nor is the bar tightly held within the receiving member.
Particularly in air inflatable structures consisting of panels of flexible plastic film, there is a need for an inexpensive, reliable and easily assembled fastener which will form an air-tight seal and also provide a means for holding the edge of the air inflatable structure to the ground or to another structure. See, for example, the co-pending allowed patent application of Frank E. Rom Ser. No. 450,424, filed Mar. 12, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,631, showing an air conduit including a plurality of layers which must be bound together in an elongate air-tight seam and also anchored to the ground for proper operation of the apparatus. The present invention described below is adaptable for use with such structures, as well as other air inflated structures requiring a reliable air-tight seam.